by Marty Coleman | Aug 30, 2012 | Art, Jean Cocteau |
I think this statement is true. I think this statement is not true.
Groovy, Man
My mother had a favorite artist when we lived in Connecticut. He did sort of psychedelic groovy paintings of rock stars and others. I think we had at least 3 of his paintings, maybe more. At the time (I was a teenager) I thought they were trendy and faddish. They seemed too attached to fashion, to the look of the times in clothing, magazines, etc. Almost like an illustration rather than fine art. I still have a one of the pieces, it’s stored away. I think someday it might be looked at fondly, as a reminder of a particular time, like looking at an old fashion magazine, but I don’t see if ever appearing timeless or beautiful. To me, it screams it’s birth date and death date all in one visual breath.
Art outside of Time
During that same time, we also bought a painting by my mother’s best friend. She had been an artist her whole life, was a crucial mentor to me in my early years as a learning artist. This painting was in the style reminiscent of the Abstract Expressionists of the 1950s. It had the energy and colors of that era. One perhaps could look at it and feel it is also trendy and faddish. But I don’t see that. I see a style, yes. But the beauty of the image transcends the limitations of it’s stylistic roots. It is not a prisoner to it’s era.
Funkadelic, baby!
In fashion there is a similar phenomenon. You can look at some outfits from the 70s and just know they will never escape their time. People might like them more this year than next, but that style will always be seen as attached to that moment in time, it will not transcend. It doesn’t mean it isn’t cool or fun. It just means it is a trendy statement, not a classic statement.
Little Black Dress
But while some of the outfits scream their date, some have become synonymous with style outside the confines of a particular time. You might know when they arrived on the scene but they are not shackled to that era.
I Love Fashion
I love looking at fashion, I love looking at art. I like fashion that screams it’s era, it is fun and exciting to watch as part of the passing parade of life. I also love fashion that is timeless. In art, I like transcendance, not trendiness. I like art that can tell me around when it was born but can also tell me it will never die.
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Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman, who had tight polyester pants and is damn proud of it!
Quote by Jean Cocteau, French writer and artist, 1889-1963
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by Marty Coleman | Aug 29, 2012 | Cheri Erdman, Family History, Perfectionism - 2012 |
Today we have a model image.
What does a model look like?
Did you know that most models don’t look like models? Yes, they have certain base features that most models have; a certain figure proportion, a certain bone structure. But models don’t look like models. They look like young women, and in most cases, average looking young women. Models start looking like models when they prepare for a shoot. The makeup artist, the hair stylist, the art director, the photographer, the photographer’s assistant, the editorial assistant, the advertising agency rep, the advertiser’s rep all play a part in creating the image you see in a magazine. The model is in the mix, contributing, but it is not her you end up seeing. It’s a photograph, an image, that you see.
Crush
I should know this since I am a photographer but I always forget and have to be reminded. That is because I have also been a fan and follower of a number of models and photographers for decades. I get seduced into the beautiful image just like anyone else.
In college I had my first major model crush. It was the model, Lisa Taylor. She was a well known model in the 70s and 80s. She was a favorite model for the fashion photographer Helmut Newton, whose work I loved. She also happened to be in one of the all time iconic images from the 70s.
Lisa Taylor wearing Calvin Klein by Helmut Newton
Confession
I had a copy of this Harper’s Bazaar magazine with Ms. Taylor on the cover hidden under my mattress in college.
June, 1977
I had it hidden not because it was pornographic obviously but because it would have been even MORE embarrassing for my roommates to find it than if I had had a Playboy or other men’s magazine. This was because I had a major crush on a girl at school who I thought looked just like Taylor. I thought they would know right away if they saw the magazine cover. One day us guys, hard to believe I know, were actually cleaning our rooms and we all decided to flip our mattresses over as we had been taught growing up. Well, you can guess what happened. They saw the magazine and had a really really big laugh at my expense. I turned bright red from embarrassment as you can imagine. Just as I thought, they immediately saw the resemblance between the model on the cover and the girl I had a crush on. They didn’t threaten to expose me because they said everyone already knew I had a crush on her. Oops. So much for that secret.
Reality
The truth is the real woman I had a crush on wasn’t perfect like the photograph of Lisa. She didn’t think she was beautiful (and still doesn’t). She had issues with her father, she easily felt guilty about many things. But she was also energetic, enthusiastic, funny and principled. And it turns out she had a bit of a crush on me. We always stayed platonic (well ok, we had one brief kiss) but we had a very emotional time of it during that year. She ended up marrying a great guy (who she was dating during our crush). We are still connected and good friends. She is still herself, positive and negative. But she is wiser, happier and more real inside and out than she ever was way back when.
Taylor Now
In 2009 Timothy Greenfield-Sanders did a project for Vogue Magazine. He took photographs of former models from the 70s and 80s. This photograph of Taylor was included in the project and the resulting exhibition in 2011.
Lisa Taylor – © Timothy Greenfield-Sanders
Truth
I love taking photographs and I love visual images, but seeing this photo and thinking about my ‘crush’ reminds me once again that whether it is age, style, Photoshop or something else, the image is not the model. The model is a living, breathing person, better and more real than any image.
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Drawing and story by Marty Coleman, who is beet red right now.
Quote by Cheri Erdman
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The models we see in magazines wish they looked like their own images
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by Marty Coleman | Aug 28, 2012 | Quote Authors |
It’s a dangerous day at the NDD.
The 10 Rules to Avoid Danger
- Don’t live anywhere dangerous.
- Don’t make friends with anyone dangerous.
- Don’t date anyone dangerous.
- Don’t eat anything dangerous.
- Don’t drink anything dangerous.
- Don’t play with anything dangerous.
- Don’t say anything dangerous.
- Don’t go anywhere dangerous.
- Don’t think anything dangerous.
- Don’t do anything dangerous.
If you follow these 10 rules you will never be in danger and you will never die.
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Drawing and rules by Marty Coleman, who is in no way dangerous.
Quote by Publilius Syrus, who was a performer and thus dangerous.
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Trivia of the Day
What is Damocle’s sword and why is it dangerous?
Damocles was a member of Dionysius’ court in ancient Syracuse. He was envious of Dionysius’ power and wealth, not being able to see the negatives attached to it. To cure Damocles of this misperception he invited him to a sumptuous feast. All was well with the feast until Damocles realized that a sharp and heavy sword was hanging directly over his head, attached to the ceiling by a single thin thread. Damocles lost his appetite and told Dionysius that the threat of the sword falling ruined the glory of the feast for him. Dionysius replied, ‘Under such a threat do I enjoy my wealth and power.’ Damocles never again envied the king.
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by Marty Coleman | Aug 27, 2012 | Uncategorized |
What are your feelings looking at her? What is she singing about?
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Drawing by Marty Coleman
Quote is anonymous
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by Marty Coleman | Aug 25, 2012 | Quote Authors |
I am brought back to summer vacation at Ditch Plains Campground in the town of Montauk at the very far eastern end of Long Island in New York. It’s July, 1969 and we are watching a very, very small portable TV, about 5-6 square inches big. It has been stormy and windy and the picture is grainy and blurry. We have a crowd of other campers gathered in our VW Campmobile and attached tent watching along with us.
That night, on a grainy small TV, in an isolated spot during a storm, we witnessed what all the world witnessed, a human landing, then walking, on the moon.
In 1972, a few years after the moonwalk, my father, who was the publisher of Business and Commercial Aviation Magazine at the time, and I were at an Aviation Expo at Dulles Airport outside Washington D.C. He was working, I was tagging along helping to distribute the daily newspaper he was putting out during the expo.
We were walking in a private back area when my father noticed a man coming towards us. My father called him by name and the two shook hands. He introduced me to the man who, at least for me, needed no introduction. Neil Armstrong was gracious and soft spoken in greeting me and giving me his autograph, which I still have.
Throughout the years we had watched every launch, knew every astronaut’s name and knew what and why they were taking that particular voyage. We had met a few of the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo astronauts over the years as well.
But meeting Mr. Armstrong was above the others. It was a moving moment for me because he represented something true. He represented something that can’t ever be taken away and can’t ever be seen as anything but what it was. This was going outside ourselves. This was our first imprint on the stars. I was amazed then and am amazed now at what mankind accomplished that night.
I got to meet the man who took that first step. That was, and is, a great honor. I have nothing but admiration and respect for Mr. Armstrong and I thank him for his work and courage on our behalf. My condolences go to his family and friends on his passing.
Nothing gives me greater hope in our future that this: if we can, and did, do that, we can, and will, do anything we set our minds on.
Marty
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